Relay



y 2, 1962 s. w. EWING 3,036,177

RELAY Filed. Feb. 15, 1960 INVENTOR. STANLEY Vl/EW/A G United States Patent Office 3,936,177 Patented May 22, 19%2 3,036,177 RELAY Stanley W. Ewing, 5177 Overland Ave., Culver City, Calif. Filed Feb. 15, 1960, Ser. No. 8,881 9 Claims. (Cl. 200110) This invention relates to a relay construction and deals more particularly with a relay that may be operated by low-value electric currents of the type produced by photoelectric cells.

An object of the present invention is to provide a relay construction which, although operated on low operating current, provides contact pressure sufiicient to carry currents substantially greater than those provided for operating the relay.

Another object of the invention is to provide a relay of the moving coil type in which the torque generated by the coil is used to control contacts in a circuit independent of the current that energizes the coil and in which the pressure on the contacts is increased or compounded, enabling a higher ratio of contact load on the contacts than is induced in said coil.

A further object of the invention is to provide an electrical mechanism of highly sensitive nature and, therefore, operable on low voltage currents and to provide said mechanism with circuit-controlling contacts and with means to compound the torque generated in the mechanism to provide a relatively high contact pressure on said contacts, whereby said contacts are capable of carrying currents substantially greater than are used to operate the mechanism.

The invention also has for its objects to provide such means that are positive in operation, convenient in use, easily installed in a working position and easily disconnected therefrom, economical of manufacture, relatively simple, and of general superiority and serviceability.

The invention also comprises novel details of construction and novel combinations and arrangements of parts, which will more fully appear in the course of the following description. However, the drawing merely shows and the following description merely describes one embodiment of the present invention, which is given by way of illustration or example only.

Inthe drawing, like reference characters designate similar parts in the several views.

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the present relay in unenergized condition.

FIG. 2 is a simliar view showing said relay energized.

The present relay has basis on a DArsonval type of electric mechanism which has a high torque moving coil 5 that is arranged to rotate on a pivot 6 between the pole pieces 7 of a permanent magnet 8. The coil 5 constitutes an armature which is disposed in the field induced between pole pieces 7 and, when energized becomes an electric magnet that responds to the mentioned field and seeks an aligned position with the lines of flux of said field. Normally, a hair spring 9' or the like, biases the coil to one position, as in FIG. 1, said coil energization causing the coil to move to another position against the light force of said hair spring, as in FIG. 2. The pivot 6 is preferably of the cone point type and usually is carried by non-magnetic bridge pieces 10 on opposite sides of the magnet 8.

The foregoing is generally conventional of DArsonval electric mechanisms or the like and constitutes a highly sensitive mechanism in which the coil 5 will move on its pivot 6 in response to low voltage current such as may be generated by a photoelectric cell.

The above-described relay is provided with an actuator arm 11 carried by and movable with the coil 5, a compounding lever 12 that is moved by arm 11 and is provided with a bridge contact end 13, and contact elements 14 and 15 in position to be engaged by bridge contact end 13 when the coil 5 is energized.

The arm 11 is affixed to and extends radially from coil 5, the same having an upturned end 16- that extends generally in the direction of the pivot 17 of lever 12.

The lever 12 is mounted on the mentioned pivot and is provided with a bifurcated end 18- in the bifurcation of which said upturned arm end 16 is directed. It will be clear that the movement of arm 11 is imparted to lever 12 and that the forces necessary to move said lever are quite small. A hair spring 19 biases lever 12 so that the same has positive movement under control of arm 11. The biasing force of spring 19 is in a direction to hold the arm 12 lightly pressed against a stop member 20, as in FIG. 1.

The contact end 13 of said lever 12 is preferably disposed on the side of pivot 17 that is opposite to the bifurcated end 18, the same being preferably formed of metal of such thin gauge so to be extremel flexible. Said end 13 is provided with contacts 21 and 22 affixed to the opposite ends of said bridge end. The latter together with the lever 12 constitutes a T-shaped element having pivot 17 as its fulcrum of movement.

Gne end of bridge piece 10 is secured in place by a terminal 23 which is here also used to mount the contact element 14. The latter comprises a thin metal member of elongated form that extends from terminal 23 in a curved form and terminates in proximity to pivot 17 where the said member is provided with a contact 24. Because of its substantial length, element 14 is quite flexible and, when engaged by contact 21, is flexed to a considerable degree that imparts flexion force to said element 14 that insures firm electrical engagement between contacts 21 and 24.

The opposite end of bridge piece 10 has a terminal 25 and the latter mounts the contact element 15 which has an end contact 26 that has the same engageable relationship to contact 22 that contacts 21 and 24 have to each other. Since the movement of lever end 13 is in an arcuate path around pivot 17, the respective pairs of contacts above described engage to cause inward flexing of contact element 14 and outward flexing of contact element 15. Thus, should the fiexion force on one contact element 14 or 15 be so low as to prevent firm contact pressure, the flexion force on the other element will be transmitted through the bridge end 13 to increase the pressure on the contacts of the first element. In any case, the elements 14 and 15 are so formed that, ideally, both are flexed to insure firm contact pressure between contacts 21 and 24 on one side and 22 and 26 on the other side.

It will be noted also that said contacts are self-cleaning because they have a sliding engagement in addition to the rotational engagement imparted by lever 12. Also, the flexure of the elements 13, 14 and 15 allows the respective pairs of contacts to engage flatwise.

A stop 27, opposite to stop 20, acts to limit the actuated position of lever 12.

As an example element 14 may be the negative element in a circuit and the same may be grounded by terminal 23 to the assembly, While element 15 may be the positive element and insulated from the assembly. Thus, when bridge end 13 connects elements 14 and 15, an electric circuit may be closed thereby which is independent of any circuit that may bring current to coil 5.

While the foregoing has illustrated and described what is now contemplated to be the best mode of carrying out the invention, the construction is, of course, subject to modification without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. It is, therefore, not desired to restrict .the invention to the particular form of construction illustrated and described, but to cover all modifications that may fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: v

1. A relay construction comprising an arm-provided movable magnetic coil, a pair of elongated and flexible contact members each having a fixed end and a freely flexible end, the latter end of each said flexible member being provided with a contact, a pivoted lever having three free ends, one said end being engaged and movable by the mentioned arm, and the other two ends being movable into simultaneous electrical contact with the contacts of the contact members.

2. A relay construction comprising an arm-provided movable magnetic coil, a pair of elongated and flexible contact members each having a fixed end and a freely flexible end, the latter end of each said flexible member being provided with a contact, a pivoted lever having three free ends, one said end being engaged and movable by the mentioned arm, the other two ends being movable therewith, and a contact on each of said two ends and simultaneously movable to engage the respective contacts of the contact elements.

3. A relay construction according to claim 2 in which said contact members are bowed toward each other, and the same having flexion movement when the mentioned contacts are engaged.

4. A relay construction comprising an arm-provided movable magnetic coil, a pair of elongated and flexible contact members each having a fixed end and a freely flexible end, the latter end of each said member being provided with a contact, a pivoted lever having three free ends, one said end being engaged and movable by the mentioned arm, a hair spring biasing said lever in one direction, and the other two ends being simultaneously movable into electrical contact with the contacts of the contact members upon energization of said coil and in a direction counter to the bias of the hair spring.

5. A relay construction comprising a magnet having opposed pole pieces, a rotatable coil mounted between said pole pieces and subject to magnetic flux passing between said pole pieces upon energization of the magnet, a pivoted member carried by the magnet and having an end engaged with the coil and pivotally movable, when the coil is moved, in response to magnetic flux passing between said pole pieces, a pair of flexible contacts carried by the magnet, and a bridge piece carried bysaid pivoted member and movable into simultaneous engagement with said contacts upon said pivotal movement of the pivoted member.

.6. A relay construction according to claim 5 in which a spring is provided to bias the movable member in a rotative direction counter to the contact-engaging direction.

7. A relay construction according to claim 5 in which the bridge piece engages over one flexible contact and under the other so that simultaneous make and break of both contacts is made upon oscillating movement of the pivoted member.

8. A relay construction comprising an arm-provided movable magnetic coil, a pair of elongated and flexible contact members each having a fixed end and a freely flexible end, the latter end of each said flexible member being provided with a contact, a pivoted leverhaving three free ends, one said end being engaged and movable by the mentioned arm, the other two ends being movable therewith, and a contact on each of said two ends and simultaneously movable to engage the respective contacts of the contact elements, the contact members being fiexible and having flexion movement when the mentioned contacts are simultaneously engaged, one of said two ends being engaged over the contact member with which associated to flex the latter in one direction and the other of said two ends being engaged under the contact member with which associated to flex the latter in the opposite direction.

9. A relay construction comprising a magnet having opposed pole pieces, a rotatable coil mounted between said pole pieces and subject to magnetic flux passing between said pole pieces upon energization of the magnet, a pivoted member carried by the magnet and having an end engaged with the coil and pivotally movable, when the coil is moved, in response to magnetic flux passing between said pole pieces, a pair of flexible contacts carried by the magnet, and a bridge piece carried by said pivoted member and movable into simultaneous engagement with said contacts upon said pivotal movement of the pivoted member, the bridge piece engaging over one flexible contact and under the other so that simultaneous make and break of both contacts is made upon oscillating movement of the pivoted member, the pivot of the arm being spaced from the bridge piece and the latter thereby having sliding wiping contact engagement with the flexible contacts when moved to contact-bridging position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 694,396 Lyle et'al. Mar. 4, 1902 729,811 Thomson June 2, 1903 2,014,388 Lamb Sept. 17, 1935 2,042,109 Lamb May 26, 1936 2,574,399 Lamb Nov. 6, 1951 2,879,353 Wichmann Mar. 24, 1959 

